Malevolent Creations

The outcome of a final product is nearly always the focal point to ones work. The finished automobile or sculpture placed upon its pedestal for all to see and admire. What about the fabricator who has placed countless hours and craftsmanship into the piece? They wake up every morning to callused hands, cuts and bruises, and of course a weld burn here and there. Who doesn’t love a good spatter down their shirt or pants once in awhile or even a good flash burn? For a metal fabricator that’s all in a days work. Hard work and ingenuity runs through their veins along with perfectionism and grace. It’s not enough to just create and build something, its most important to learn the product they are working with and let it flow together to become something great. With metal fabrication the artist must be knowledgable about not only the metals they are working with, but also the machinery and tools they will be using on the job.

This is why I have decided to bring a new perspective to Built Not Bought this month. Instead of putting all of my focus on a single vehicle and its owner I would like to introduce you to one of Central California’s prominent metal fabricators, because to me, as a builder, there is nothing better than to see whats beyond the shiny paint and wheels. It’s the the metal fabrication and clean welds making up the project that gets my blood flowing and grabs my attention.

Located deep in the San Joaquin Valley, Ian Vance owner of Metalhead Kustoms is taking metal fabrication beyond industry standards for those who want to step into this metal melting game. At only 32 years old Ian has left no questions unanswered when it comes to comparing his work to the top metal fabricators in the auto industry. His work hard play hard at full throttle pedal smashing approach is heavy metal fab at its finest.

Growing up in a very cultural home Ian had a unique opportunity to learn crafts and to cook from his Japanese babysitter whom he still credits for bringing the best out of what he does today. At a young age he enjoyed building WWI and WWII Warbirds and Bombers while watching Tim Allen build his luxurious 1932 Roadster on the tv series Home Improvement. A pinnacle of his life when decisions started to unfold on what was to soon become of this heavy metal bad ass.

After high school Ian  decided to pack his bags and head out to Wyoming to work at Wyotech to expand on his fabrication skills. While at Wyotech he built his 1935 Ford Pickup stuffed with a Cadillac big block on one of his custom one off designed chassis’. Now home Ian places all of his focus on his business. Working relentless hours his passion for metal keeps him pounding away on the anvil and beadrolling the contours on some of California’s finest machines. When he isn’t fabricating you can catch a sneek peek of Ian beating the drums to death or relaxing in the kitchen cooking up some fine chef style meals.

Ian’s business Metalhead Kustoms offers high quality metal fabrication and precision welding for a wide varieties of applications. A parts catalog is in the near future offering quality Hotrod and Kustom parts and a selection of shop merchandise including trucker hats,shop shirts, and stickers.

You can follow Ian Vance and Metalhead Kustoms on facebook and instagram @MetalheadKustoms. If you would like to contact him for your fabrication needs send him an email at metalheadkustoms@gmail.com or contact him through his website www.metalheadkustoms.com